Home Builder Money, Source of Influence |
Thursday, 19 January 2006 |
Home Builder Campaign Contributions ...the group has been actively lobbying on so-called smart growth issues. Home builders want Congress to pass environmental regulations they believe are favorable to the industry, including a rollback of some portions of the Clean Air Act and other notable regulations. |
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BBB Looking at Growing Trend of Defective Homes |
Sunday, 15 January 2006 |
Protecting consumers, promoting business
...BBB statistic claiming for every one complaint the organization receives, there are twenty problems never reported...From KB Homes to David Weekley to Royce and Perry, Parsons said the growing trend in building new, damaged and defective homes, however, is a problem which the BBB is looking at..."Something very bad is going on and for the first time, I am starting to wonder whether we are going to be able to keep homebuilders as members," Parsons said... In 2003, after homebuilders successfully lobbied the state legislator for a new state agency to protect them against lawsuits, the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) was formed. Since the TRCC's inception, Parsons said nothing but problems and issues arose..."Our mandate on the TRCC is that it is the law, but it is not a good law. We don't like laws like this; we want businesses to play fair."... "Half the builders hate that law. They saw some of the zealots start to affect their industry, not because they were bad but because other builders were bad," Parsons said. Furthermore, Parsons said the TRCC hurts the good builders left in the industry. "It is a terrible law. It is interesting that you look at the homebuilders who backed the TRCC law have gone south with us-Weekley, Royce and Perry." |
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Charlotte Observer Foreclosure Special |
Sunday, 15 January 2006 |
Loan defaults a growing burden for lower-income neighborhoods
Home loan failures have more than quadrupled in Mecklenburg County since 1999. More foreclosures are filed here, per person, than any other county in the state. On average, 11 Mecklenburg houses are sold in foreclosure auctions every business day. The owners are evicted, their credit ruined, and they face thousands in court fees and moving expenses. |
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Building Industry discuss solutions to mold problem |
Friday, 13 January 2006 |
Responsible Solutions to Mold Coalition Launched The issue of mold continues to be an important topic to builders, homeowners and governmental agencies. Of late it has reached an even higher level of awareness as plans are made for rebuilding the Gulf Coast..."Everyone connected with the building industry has a stake in making sure effective solutions are embraced in solving this important problem," said Robert Daniels, Director Emeritus of The Tile Council of North America.
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WFAA Dallas - Report on TRCC Probe |
Tuesday, 10 January 2006 |
Homeowners anticipate TRCC probe outcome The Texas Residential Construction Commission, which was created two years ago by the legislature to help homeowners and homebuilders resolve their differences, has been placed under investigation to the interest of many homeowners. The investigation of the agency is scheduled to be completed in the next few weeks and New 8 found most everyone News 8 talked to wanted the results made public. Video Byron Harris reports |
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Kick-Backs for mortgage title insurance company |
Monday, 09 January 2006 |
HUD Settles Kick-Back Case With 9 Memphis Home-Builders Nine Mid-South home-builders will pay the federal government $226,000 to settle a three-year long dispute over an alleged kick-back scheme, according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. |
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Monday, 09 January 2006 |
Aspergillus fumigatus & Ergot Alkaloids - Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) January 2, 2006 |
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Texas Comptroller Conducts Audit of Builders State Agency |
Sunday, 08 January 2006 |
State agency making changes But consumer groups remain skeptical, saying the agency was created in 2003 at the behest of builders to reduce litigation by forcing consumers into a state-run dispute resolution process...Alex Winslow, director of consumer group Texas Watch, said homeowners shouldn't have to pay for the dispute process at all. He's also critical of the agency's governor-appointed board, which has many industry representatives on it â including John Krugh, who works as general counsel for Houston builder Bob Perry's company and helped craft the legislation that created the construction commission. "I think the makeup of the board speaks for itself," Winslow said. "It's dominated by industry insiders, with Bob Perry's lawyer as one of the original appointees. I think that speaks to the agency's leanings."... "The whole premise of this is to wear down the homebuyer," said Ahmad, who has been pushing for a home lemon law, similar to the one for cars. |
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Ryan Homes Builds Homes on Dump |
Saturday, 07 January 2006 |
Neighbors Say Homes Were Built on Hidden Garbage Dump Some neighbors in Orchard Park are concerned about a possible coverup, saying their homes were built on a hidden garbage dump. Investigative Reporter Luke Moretti has more on a developing story that we brought you first on News 4. Mike and Cindy Honer and Kristin Matteson say they want out. Orchard Park Homeowner Kristin Matteson: "I don't want anything to do with this subdivision. I don't want to drive by the Ryan Home Model every day. I just want to move my kids and my family to a safe environment."
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State Comptroller Reviews Builder Agency |
Thursday, 05 January 2006 |
Homebuilder review draws debate Consumer groups have long sought a review of the two-year-old state agency that regulates home builders, claiming it favors the industry over homeowners. They finally got the state comptroller to do one... Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, chairman of the House Committee on State Affairs, has asked the state attorney general for an opinion...Consumer advocates critical of the building commission question Swinford's motives and wonder why he wouldn't welcome input on the agency. |
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Ten Things Your Home Builder Won't Tell You |
Wednesday, 04 January 2006 |
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New York-Construction Defect in York County Juticial Center |
Monday, 02 January 2006 |
$222K just to look The county will pay an engineering firm up to $222,000 to design and oversee the process of fixing leaky windows at the York County Judicial Center. |
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Monday, 02 January 2006 |
Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) Januar 2, 2006 |
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Monday, 02 January 2006 |
Monday Morning Mold (Mycology) December 26, 2005 |
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The Most Overvalued & Undervalued Homes |
Friday, 30 December 2005 |
Florida & California overvalued homes - Texas & Alabama homes values lowest Sixty-five of the nation's 299 biggest real estate markets are severely overpriced and subject to possible price corrections.The report named Naples, Florida as the most overvalued of all housing markets in the United States. A single-family, median-priced home there sells for $329,970, 84 percent more than what it should cost -- $180,956 -- according to the analysis. |
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